Sovereign of the Ashes

The God of Black Mist was able to sense the God of Scorching Wind because the latter had once belonged to his pantheon and had, in fact, served under him for many years.

Beings who followed the path of divine faith possessed certain distinct characteristics.

When low-level believers meditated upon or called out the name of the deity they worshipped, the threads of faith connecting them gave that deity a chance to sense their prayers.

On planes where faith-based systems had flourished, miracles often occurred.

In truth, many of those so-called miracles were simply instances in which a deity heard the pleas of a follower and chose to respond.

Sometimes, deities could be quite reasonable.

So long as believers offered sufficient devotion, a deity might respond to them at their own discretion.

After all, if a deity ignored all prayers and acted without the slightest concern for its followers, what lowly creature would willingly continue worshipping such a being?

In that sense, the world of deities could be remarkably competitive.

A god who failed to put in the effort might one day discover that some other deity had poached the followers he had spent so much time gathering.

The God of Black Mist had not detected the God of Scorching Wind because the latter worshipped him.

Rather, as a subordinate deity under the God of Black Mist, the God of Scorching Wind was theoretically required to hand over a portion of the faith power he gathered.

The God of Black Mist was much like a “landlord”. He permitted the God of Scorching Wind to spread his faith within his territory, but in return, a portion of the faith power earned had to be turned over to him.

This was an entirely one-sided relationship.

As a result, the God of Black Mist could use those threads of faith to sense the presence of the God of Scorching Wind on the plane below.

The God of Scorching Wind, on the other hand, could only vaguely guess that the God of Black Mist might also be present on this battlefield after noticing the planetary-class war fortress outside the plane.

Driven by the desire to survive, along with their own conflicting interests, both sides began searching for a way to establish contact.

The God of Black Mist was the first to succeed.

After receiving Sein’s instructions, he attempted to establish a stable communication channel with the God of Scorching Wind through the threads of faith.

Long ago, Sein had already realized that the power of faith was an extraordinarily unique and profound force.

It was no wonder that nearly sixty percent of the planes discovered by the Magus Civilization in the Astral Realm had adopted systems of divine faith.

Magic civilizations like the Magus Civilization and technological civilizations like the Gallant Federation were both exceedingly rare among the countless civilizations of the Astral Realm.

In truth, the Amenkha Empire could also be considered a faith-based civilization.

The very existence of the Pharaohs’ Temple, along with the lofty position it held within the Amenkha Empire, was proof of how deeply divine abilities influenced every aspect of that civilization.

It might be called an “empire”, but the three Pharaohs within the temple were the ones who truly called the shots.

Establishing contact with the God of Scorching Wind did not go smoothly.

For one thing, the God of Black Mist’s faith power was not particularly strong. For another, the sturdy planar barrier of Cloud Dragon Stream Plane obstructed their connection, making communication even more difficult.

In the end, Sein had to step in personally.

Once faith power reached the level of laws, it shared certain similarities with magic elements.

Using the source of their faith as a node, Sein helped the two deities establish a relatively stable channel of communication.

In fact, one of the signal transmitters was the planetary-class fortress beneath his feet.

Within that transmitter, the source releasing vast amounts of divine power and faith energy was a random divine relic Sein had retrieved from his own collection.

As one of Sein’s loyal followers, the God of Black Mist was fortunate enough to catch a brief glimpse inside his collection room.

That single glance at the dazzling array of divine relics, high-grade material, and specimens nearly caused his knees to buckle.

Most of them had been collected by Sein ever since he arrived in the Dawn Empire.

This was not even close to the entirety of his wealth.

He had an enormous collection room within the Ashen Fortress on the Magus Civilization’s battlefield, as well as another within the Divine Tower of Ashes in Magus World.

The rare materials and precious specimens in those two locations far exceeded everything gathered here!

This collection room was merely a small treasury that Sein had established recently.

“The main reason we were able to establish contact with the God of Scorching Wind is that he wants to speak with us. He’s also afraid that once the planar barrier is breached, he’ll be eliminated,” Sein said.

“You may offer him a reasonable amount of benefits. On your behalf, I can also promise him protection and safety. However, if he continues to hesitate, those benefits and promises will not remain the same. The Dawn Empire will not wait for long, and we certainly cannot allow a mere Rank Four deity to interfere with the progress of our overall battle plan.”

“Understood!” the God of Black Mist replied.

After a moment of thought, Sein said, “The greatest value the God of Scorching Wind can offer in this interplanar war is to help us destroy Cloud Dragon Stream Plane’s planar barrier from within.”

Stroking his chin, he continued, “But his strength alone may not be enough. Have him sway the other deities as well. If any of them are willing to defect to the Magus Civilization and make a genuine contribution, I can grant them the same protection as the God of Scorching Wind.”

The God of Black Mist agreed once more, but then voiced a concern.

“If too many of the foreign gods below learn of this, will it not jeopardize our plan?”

He hurriedly added, “I know the God of Scorching Wind well. As a former subordinate of mine, he is a fairly reliable deity. I believe his attempt to contact us is sincere.”

“But if we ask him to sway the other gods, and even one or two of them suddenly betray us, not only will our plan be exposed, but the God of Scorching Wind’s safety will be...” The God of Black Mist trailed off.

Hearing this, Sein looked at him and asked coldly, “What does his safety have to do with us?”

The God of Black Mist was left speechless.

As he looked at Sein’s expressionless Faceless Mask, a sudden chill ran through him.

Indeed, what did the fate of those deities have to do with a Magus Civilization powerhouse like Sein?

From Sein’s perspective, if the God of Scorching Wind succeeded, it would merely be a pleasant surprise.

If Cloud Dragon Stream Plane’s planar barrier could be breached ahead of schedule, allowing the Dawn Empire legions to invade, then Sein, as one of the main architects of the plan, would naturally receive a substantial reward.

But if the plan failed, Sein would suffer no real loss.

At most, the God of Scorching Wind would die.

And Sein barely had any connection to him in the first place.

The final outcome would not change.

Cloud Dragon Stream Plane would still fall.

It was only a matter of time.

The God of Scorching Wind must have understood this as well. That was why he had been so desperate to establish contact with Sein and the Dawn Empire powerhouses outside the plane.

This was a mutually beneficial deal.

The difference was that the God of Scorching Wind was wagering his life for the chance of a brighter future.

The God of Black Mist lowered his head respectfully.

Seeing that Sein had no intention of continuing the discussion, he turned and withdrew from the planetary fortress’ main control room.